Following the mysterious disappearance of an oil rig and a reconnaissance mini-submarine in the Gulf of Mexico, scientist Dr. Margaret Adams initiates the Armada Program, which consists of giant robots designed for deep sea rescue.

The three robots – piloted by Red, Tracy and Jim – dive nearly 800 fathoms to the sea bed, where they not only discover the mangled remains of the oil rig, but encounter the monster that brought it down.

Red emerges on a beach to warn the bystanders to leave the area; he is suddenly attacked from behind by the monster as their fight takes its toll on the city.

Later, Hadley is informed by Sheldon Geise of a top-secret sonar program that discovered the monsters, which are hundreds of millions of years old and lay their eggs on a mixture of crude oil and saltwater.

Adams gives the trio special "halo" headbands that neurally link them to their robots, increasing their reflexes by using their direct body movements instead of joysticks.

Atlantic Rim was originally planned to be shot at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, but The Asylum were denied permission to film at the base after a high-ranking official read the script and disagreed with the portrayal of the soldiers.

[1][4] Dave Pace of Fangoria gave the film two out of four stars, calling it "a testament to why there aren't many live action giant robot vs. monster movies.

"[5] Dread Central gave the film three out of five stars, describing it as "the ultimate monster movie about booze-hounding broskis in battle bots saving New York City from a crazy-eyed giant sea beast that frequently appears to be merely a lost animal, confused and irritated that these metal men won't stop hitting it.